Misconceptions in adult learning Devon Janecko Post University EDU643

Misconception #1: Student engagement * Adult students are all intrinsically motivated * This innate motivation is enough to keep them engaged * It is not necessary to find creative ways to engage students * All adult students are self-directed learners * Autonomy comes naturally to adult students

Self-directed learning theory Students must be provided with a learning environment that promotes self- efficacy and autonomy. “Engaging adult learners would require efforts not only to connect them with the instructors and peer learners, but also to enable them to interact with the academic environment and professional community at large” (Huang, 2013).

Self-directed learning at post University * Practicum work puts learners directly into their fields of study. * Students are able to get real-life hands-on experience. * Students are responsible to research and secure their own practicum sites. * Practicum work encourages the student to be self-directed in their learning; asking questions, shadowing, independently researching, etc.

Misconception #2: age & learning * Adults are less capable than their younger counterparts of learning new information as they get older. * Adults are stubborn, therefore their worldviews are unable to be shifted. * It is difficult later in life to change one’s way of thinking. * Adults are less able to adapt to change. * Learning slows as one gets older because there is no more room to grow.

Transformational learning theory * “Requires the acquisition of information that upsets prior knowledge and triggers a changing of ideas and perceptions” (Bouchard, 2016). * Being able to adapt to change, and shift one’s previous perspectives is when real learning takes place.

Transformative learning in context * My husband hated his first experience in college at 18 years old. * He was unmotivated, unengaged, and distracted. * At 32 he became a college student again. * His experiences in 14 years helped him to feel connected to his learning, remain engaged, and his goals now made learning relevant and critical to his current life

Misconception #3: adults are unable to relearn * I doubted an adult’s ability to relearn information and retain it. * If they didn’t learn it the first time around, then it must not have been retained for a reason. * Stubbornness and an inability to adapt to change hinder adults from relearning * Experience holds adults back from opening their minds to change

Experiential learning theory * “Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience” (Kolb, 2005). * Learning requires the resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world (Kolb, 2005). * All learning is relearning (Kolb, 2005).

Experiential learning & Me * I began my first graduate program with no experience in the field * I excelled in the courses and was miserable in the actual classroom * If I had experience first I would have know that teaching was not my destiny * 7 years later I had 5 years of experience before pursuing my degree * This experience makes the material relevant and keeps me engaged

references Bouchard, J. (2016). Transformative Learning. Transformative Learning -- Research Starters Education, 1. Huang, W. & Yoo, S. J., w. (2013). Engaging Online Adult Learners in Higher Education: Motivational Factors Impacted by Gender, Age, and Prior Experiences. Journal Of Continuing Higher Education, 61(3), 151-164. doi:10.1080/07377363.2013.836823. Kolb, A., & Kolb, D. (2005). Learning styles and learning spaces: enhancing experiential learning in higher education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4(2), 193-212.